A New Method for Identifying Stem-Like Cells in Esophageal Cancer Cell Lines

Journal Article
TN, Almanaa . 2013
المجلة \ الصحيفة: 
J Cancer
رقم العدد: 
(7)
رقم الإصدار السنوي: 
4
الصفحات: 
536-548
مستخلص المنشور: 

 Cancer stem cells (CSCs) appear to resist chemo-radiotherapy and initiate tumor recurrence in

patients. Isolation and further characterization of this subpopulation is important for targeting

CSCs. Flow cytometry using Aldefluor, a fluorescent substrate of aldehyde dehydrogenase, has

been used to isolate CSCs from various cancer cell lines. However, new techniques are needed to

locate and identify CSCs in culture for live-cell analyses such as fluorescence microscopy without

introducing artifacts during cell sorting and to observe CSC and non-CSC interactions. Previously,

we characterized a distinct CSC subpopulation within human esophageal cancer cell lines (ESCC).

In this study we introduce the attached-cell Aldefluor method (ACAM) to detect CSCs in ESCC

cell lines (KY-5, KY-10, TE-1, TE-8, YES-1, YES-2). To validate this technique, we isolated CSCs

from the YES-2 parental line using standard Aldefluor flow cytometry to create a cell line enriched

in CSCs (YES-2CSC). This line showed significantly greater ACAM staining and higher CD44 levels

than YES-2. ACAM also showed significantly higher ALDH activity in YES-2CSC than in YES-2S, a

cell line that has a diminished CSC subpopulation after having survived treatment with curcumin.

ACAM stained cells within tumorspheres made from the CSC-enriched line but not differentiating

cells from the tumorspheres. This study also demonstrates a new method for generating and

growing tumorspheres without the growth factor supplements normally used in medium to form

tumorspheres. ACAM should be evaluated using other cancer cell lines to further substantiate its

effectiveness and to characterize CSCs in culture through various imaging techniques.